MSI Press Blog

  This week, our household held its breath. Tiger—Fawn’s longtime feline companion, guardian, and self-appointed service animal—had stopped eating. No peeing. No pooping. No tolerance for being touched, let alone placed in a carrier. But still, he stood. Still, he watched over Fawn with his signature blend of reduced ferocity and unwavering command. Still, he took his daily rest break on the catio, as if to say, “I’m not done yet.” We kept vigil. The carrier sat open on the floor like a silent invitation. We wondered: would he weaken enough for us to lift him? Would he let us help? He didn’t. Not until Friday morning. As I administered Fawn’s IV antibiotics, Tiger looked at me. Then, in a gesture so deliberate it felt sacred, he walked over to the carrier, stepped inside, and sat down. No drama. No resistance. Just readiness. He knew. We closed the door and drove an hour to the regional animal ER and diagnostic center—an expensive place, yes, but the only one equipped to handle eme...

  Tiger asleep on Anemone's wheelchair, one of his favorite spots Tiger really is a tiger, for all practical intents and purposes. An orange tabby, he looks like one. A feral even after 14 years, he behaves as one.  Raised as an only child (after his sister died at the too-young age of one), he was the central focus in the life of my disabled adult daughter, Anemone, living independently and alone after the too-early death of her fiancé. That made her Tiger's central focus. They bonded deeply.  Tiger followed Anemone everywhere. He would ride around on the arm of her wheelchair, which he, naught boy, would sometimes use as a scratching pad -- the pads had to be replaced from time to time. At times, he even slept there. He would also nestle down on her lap for a long sleep.  When she snapped her fingers, he came running. And when anyone came to the door (which was very seldom), he stood guard, tail up and quivering, claws at the ready. And he would spring -- from his...

  Tiger, the great and powerful orange tabby, has been untouchable for 14 years. When his owner, my disabled daughter, whom he fiercely and forcibly protects, moved from her apartment back home with me. Tiger would not go into his carrier. No way. No how. Not chasable. Not touchable--put claws all the way through my shoe and my son's glove, his teeth baring in a loud, prolonged threatening hiss. Not enticed by food even after eight hours of packing and alternately encouraging Tiger to be part of the process and let us put him in his carrier--one big enough for a large dog, anything else being unthinkable that he would enter. We contacted a friend with a feral cat trap and made plans to leave Tiger alone overnight in the empty apartment and try to catch him with the trap after being hungry for even longer. But, Tiger is a smart cat. As my son and I headed out of the apartment, followed by my daughter in her wheelchair, Tiger went into the carrier and looked at us. He was not to be s...